Sunday, March 20, 2011

My FIRST Texas Convention - Anime Matsuri 2011!!!

In a sentence:
Do not stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Houston , Tx near Reliant Arena/Medical Center; but, attend Anime Matsuri 2012 (possibly, with a travel-size Lysol).



So, I'm sure plenty of you are wondering why I decided to go to Anime Matsuri in Houston, Texas rather than C2E2 in Chigago.  Well, I'll tell you - money.  The same reason I didn't/couldn't attend SXSW.  C2E2 was reasonably priced, but plane tickets are not.  However, SXSW - WTF?!?! Let's have a sidebar for a minute:
Dear Convention Organizers,
We are geeks, not nerds.  We have no technical genius to sell.  Sadly, selling a picture or a story does not have the same monetary value as fixing a computer.  We do not have the funds necessary to pay such exorbitant entry rates (see SXSW at $375 minimum), despite however much we wish reading comics and watching genre films was a sources of income.  How are we supposed to attend a Con to buy more stuff when we can't even afford to pay the entry fee?  Think, organizers! Think!  ::sigh::
But, enough of my lamenting.


Jeffrey Albertson is his real name
 Anime Matsuri was my first Texas Con, and my first Anime Con in a while.  I've recently been attending various Film Festivals and NYCC.  When my sister first told people that she was being dragged by me to NYCC, they warned her about "the stench".  Apparently,  a LOT of people still believe that Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons is the geek exemplar.  Using myself as an example: I am not like Comic Book Guy - in sex, hygiene, weight, or social interaction.  Yes, I would love to be able to translate Lord of the Rings into Klingon (I seriously want a Klingon For Dummies to be written), and I do know what NCC-1701 references, as well as who shot first (no, I'm not telling you - you should know); but, I have a healthy mainstream social life, wear clothing that fits, and practice good hygiene.  Yet, it is the last of these issues, these sterotypes, which Anime Matsuri reminded me of.  Apparently, the stereotype is alive and assualting my olfactory glands.

When attending NYCC, I have never had the misfortune of smelling anyone stinky.  Yes, I'm sure they exist, but that smell did not linger as they passed me, nor was it ever so strong that I was physically unable to attend a panel.  The average age of attendees at this convention was around 18 - which probably had something to do with the stench.  Additionally, it was also the worst around the Sleeping Samurai events, a panel consisting of "samurai" fighting with foam weapons.  I know puberty is difficult, and Houston was humid this past weekend, but anti-perspirant and showers are reccomended for ALL Con attendees - whatever your classification (but my thoughts are lingering on you, gamers).  If not for yourself, be considerate of the geeks around you.

Final Critique:
Overall, Matsuri was enjoyable.  Yes, the hotel staff was rude, the location had horrid/no parking, there was no filling food (eggrolls do not count), and the location was ridiculously cramped for cosplay and the number of people (which worsened the stench issue), but the attendees were excited and energetic, and the Artists' Alley was excellent.  The greek crowd is standardly welcoming, and the Texas geeks were no different.

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